Best Proof that Truth is Stranger than Fiction

As stated in my first-ever Omni post, my reading tends to skew towards nonfiction.  I have attempted to remedy this flaw in my omnivoraciousness - my #1 resolution for 2008 was "read more fiction" - but a glance at my Best of the Month picks reveals a very-much-alive bias.  I've read some phenomenal fiction this year (The Northern Clemency, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Netherland, and Downtown Owl to name a few), but old habits clearly die hard.

So in the interest of well-rounded reading, I thought I'd fuse a handful of my favorite nonfiction titles of 2008 with similar reads in fiction.  If you're also looking to branch out from either a fiction or nonfiction bias, consider these combos your literary training wheels.

The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston
Fiction counterpart: Hannibal by Thomas Harris
Harris adapted portions of the depraved real-life "Monster" accounts into his gruesome follow-up to The Silence of the Lambs.

The Irregulars by Jennet Conant
Fiction counterpart: Any 007 novel by Ian Fleming
This is a no-brainer - not only did the charismatic Roald Dahl live the debonair life of the gentleman spy during WWII, but Fleming was also a member of the same covert network of British intelligence.

All for a Few Perfect Waves by David Rensin
Fiction counterpart: The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson
The Hollywood days of rebel surfer Miki Dora were filled with some of the same sun, sand, and debauchery found in one of the Good Doctor's earliest works.

The Last Campaign by Thurston Clarke
Fiction counterpart: A Shakespearean tragedy
This is a bit of a stretch, as RFK doesn't really fit the mold of Shakespeare's flawed protagonist, but the painful could-have-been-avoided loss reminded me of both Hamlet and King Lear.

Got a 2008 nonfiction/fiction mash-up of your own?  Add it to the Comments section below and help me break my nonfiction chains.

-- Dave